logo
Karen Guregian: Are Mike Vrabel's goals realistic for the Patriots?

Karen Guregian: Are Mike Vrabel's goals realistic for the Patriots?

Yahooa day ago
One of Mike Vrabel's stated goals for the Patriots with respect to the upcoming season sounds simple enough.
'We just want to be good enough to take advantage of bad football,' Vrabel said during his introductory press conference in January. 'That's where we're going to start.'
Advertisement
Given what's played out the past few seasons, with bad football being more the norm for the Patriots, it's a good place to start.
It just might be the easiest mission to accomplish. Even Vrabel isn't convinced this group, which starts training camp Wednesday, will ultimately be up to the stated task.
'What I've tried to tell all the players is right now I don't know if we're good enough to take advantage of bad football. I'm unsure,' he went on. 'Like we're undefeated right now, but if we can just work towards taking advantage of bad football and being good enough to, when somebody makes a mistake, capitalizing on it and not being the ones that make the mistakes, and focusing on the little things and the details and helping them do their job better, that's a great place to start.'
This used to be part of Bill Belichick's playbook. The team's former coach didn't want the Patriots to beat themselves, but rather, have the other teams fall prey to their own miscues.
Advertisement
Belichick largely coached the bad football out of his teams, and watched other teams self-destruct.
That sure sounds a lot like Vrabel's plan, and if he's able to push the 2025 Patriots to that point, and accomplish that mission, the new coach should enjoy a pretty successful season, especially given a favorable schedule.
The mantra of taking advantage of bad football should play well against the Jets, Dolphins, Panthers, Giants, Saints, Falcons, etc.
If the Patriots hold serve against the teams they should beat on the schedule, that will go a long way toward getting out of their four-win rut, and being a fringe playoff team.
Advertisement
To this point, the players seem to have bought into the Vrabel way. They've appreciated his hands-on approach, and embraced the coaching not only from Vrabel, but his staff.
Is it even fair to think Vrabel will be able to get this group good enough to feast on bad teams?
Absolutely.
As the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel was able to do more with less.
He was able to push players and challenge them to greater heights. He was able to make them take advantage of bad football on the opposing side.
Moreover, it didn't take long for many of those players to believe with him on the sidelines, they had an edge.
Advertisement
Former Patriot Logan Ryan, who played for Vrabel in Tennessee, explained what that meant.
'I was blown away by how smart he was as a coach, as a strategist, an in-game strategist,' Ryan told MassLive earlier in the year. 'He really gave us an advantage not only schematically defensively, but just using strategy at the end and knowing exactly what to do situationally.
'He knows what he's doing,' Ryan went on. 'He knows how to win games and he'll do what it takes to win games.'
Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a player for the Patriots, went 54-45 over six seasons as the Titans head coach from 2018-23 and led Tennessee to the AFC Championship Game in 2019.
Advertisement
He did all of that without the benefit of a quarterback who had the promise and pedigree of Drake Maye.
Harold Landry, who was signed by the Patriots in free agency, also played for Vrabel. He pretty much echoed Ryan's remarks.
'I feel like one of the main jobs for a head coach is to make sure your team's prepared situationally,' Landry said. 'And all I know is, as long as I played for Vrabes, there was never a situation I wasn't prepared for. Like, I don't care what the score was in the fourth quarter. I don't know. We just always had a feeling that we was going to pull this out. Didn't matter what the score was going into the fourth and we just always found a way to win. It's crazy. We just found a way to win. And that was just kind of the mentality. We just didn't think we could lose, to be honest, no matter what was going on in the game.'
After the Titans let him go, Vrabel spent last season with the Cleveland Browns as a consultant, but was involved and engaged with all aspects of the program.
Advertisement
It wasn't much of a secret where club owner Robert Kraft was headed following the dismissal of Jerod Mayo after one season.
Kraft gave the baton to Vrabel, believing he could resurrect the team, and once again make the Patriots great again.
'In the interview process, Mike showed us that he had a very deep understanding of our current team,' Kraft said during Vrabel's introductory press conference, 'and most importantly, he had a clear and focused strategy of how to get us back to the championship way that is not only so important to all of us, but also something that I think our fan base really deserves and expects.'
Vrabel, who was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2023, smartly signed several players who understood the culture he was trying to build.
Advertisement
He brought in players who also get what makes him tick as a head coach.
'I want to galvanize our football team. I want to galvanize this building. I want to galvanize our fans,' Vrabel said after being hired. 'The most important thing are the players . . . I want to provide a program that provides their ownership but also their accountability of each other and one that they'll be proud to be a part of and that they're going to fight for.'
With training camp on tap, he's already gotten that ball rolling. We'll see soon enough if he makes this Patriots team good enough to take advantage of bad football.
More Patriots Content
Advertisement
Read the original article on MassLive.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tanner Gordon's 6 scoreless innings help Rockies beat Cardinals for their 1st shutout of the season
Tanner Gordon's 6 scoreless innings help Rockies beat Cardinals for their 1st shutout of the season

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Tanner Gordon's 6 scoreless innings help Rockies beat Cardinals for their 1st shutout of the season

DENVER (AP) — Tanner Gordon pitched six scoreless innings and Ezequiel Tovar hit a home run to help the Colorado Rockies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-0 on Wednesday and win back-to-back series for the first time since Sept. 13-18, 2024. Gordon (2-2) gave up four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Jimmy Herget threw two innings of one-hit relief before Tyler Kinley pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. The trio combined for Colorado's first shutout of the season. The Rockies hit five consecutive singles in their four-run second inning off St. Louis starter Andre Pallante (5-7) and Jordan Beck added an RBI double in the fifth to make it 5-0. Tovar's solo shot in the eighth capped the scoring. Germán Márquez, who was scheduled to start for Colorado, was moved to the 15-day IL earlier Wednesday due to right biceps tendinitis. The Cardinals snapped their streak of scoring at least four runs in 11 straight games at Coors Field since Oliver Marmol became manager in 2021. Key moment Ryan McMahon drew a leadoff walk and, after Tovar flied out, Austin Nola, Kyle Farmer, Adael Amador, Tyler Freeman and Mickey Moniak hit five consecutive singles to give the Rockies a 4-0 lead in the second. Key stat Colorado, which was an MLB-worst 22-74 at the All-Star break, is 4-2 since their return. The Rockies have won as many series since the break (two) as they did prior to it. Up next Sonny Gray (9-4, 4.04 ERA) is set to pitch for St. Louis on Thursday against Yu Darvish (0-2, 6.08) in the first of four games against San Diego. Kyle Freeland (2-10, 5.19) takes the mound Friday for Colorado against the Baltimore Orioles, who haven't announced a starter. ___ AP MLB:

De Minaur opens Washington campaign with solid win
De Minaur opens Washington campaign with solid win

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

De Minaur opens Washington campaign with solid win

Alex de Minaur has made an impressive start to his Washington Open campaign, notching a straight-sets victory over China's Bu Yunchaokete. Playing his first event since his heartbreaking defeat to Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at Wimbledon, the Australian No.1 claimed a morale-boosting 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win to set up a last-16 clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka. As seventh seed at the tournament, de Minaur was favourite to see off world No.75 Bu. Now the Australian can take heart from a solid performance at the hardcourt ATP 500 tournament as he builds towards next month's US Open, where last year he reached his third consecutive grand slam quarter-final. Solid start 🫡@alexdeminaur fends off Bu 7-6, 6-2 to open his campaign in DC.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen — Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 23, 2025 De Minaur has enjoyed previous success in the American capital. In 2018, then ranked No.72, he made a surprise run to his first ATP 500 final, where he lost 6-2 6-4 to Alexander Zverev. Now 26, the world No.13 will look to make further progression at the Washington Open after racking up his 280th career win and 31st this season as he continues his quest to return to the top 10. However, there was no such joy for De Minaur's compatriot Aleksandar Vukic, the Sydneysider suffering a 6-3 6-2 defeat to the top-seeded Taylor Fritz. American Fritz was making his first appearance since his impressive semi-final run at Wimbledon, where he gave Carlos Alcaraz a real test. And Australia's world No.24 Alexei Popyrin is also out after a bruising 7-5 5-7 6-3 defeat to China's Yibing Wu, who claimed his first win over a top-25 player in over two years in two hours and 37 minutes.

Phoenix Suns bring back guard Jordan Goodwin after he's waived by Lakers
Phoenix Suns bring back guard Jordan Goodwin after he's waived by Lakers

Yahoo

time26 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Phoenix Suns bring back guard Jordan Goodwin after he's waived by Lakers

The Phoenix Suns have acquired guard Jordan Goodwin, who most recently was with the Los Angeles Lakers and formerly played for Phoenix. ESPN's Shams Charania first reported the news on July 23. Goodwin, 26, was claimed off waivers and agreed to a $2.3 million veteran minimum deal with only $25K guaranteed, and the remainder is fully protected if not waived by Jan. 7, per ESPN's NBA front office insider Bobby Marks. Goodwin was released by the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Shake Milton to bring in veteran guard Marcus Smart, the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year, signing him for their biannual exception of a two-year deal for $11 million. Goodwin fills one of the Suns' two remaining roster spots for 15 guaranteed deals, and helps with their point guard void. He originally came to the Suns from Washington in the Bradley Beal trade in June 2023. He was waived at the trade deadline in February 2023, signed with the Memphis Grizzlies on a 10-day deal, then signed with the Lakers in September 2024. Now, Goodwin replaces Beal, who was bought out by the Suns on July 16, then joined the L.A. Clippers. Support local journalism: Subscribe to today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns bring back Jordan Goodwin after waiver by Lakers

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store